Systems and methods for lip reading control of a media device

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of generating device commands based upon spoken user commands are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment captures a series of images of a user of a media device, generates image information corresponding to the series of captured images, determines lip movement of the user from the generated image information, determines at least one spoken user command based upon the determined lip movement of the user, and determines a device command based upon the determined spoken user command. Then, the device command is communicated to, for example, a media presentation device, wherein an operation of the media presentation device is controlled in accordance with the determined spoken user command.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This patent application is a Continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/358,952, filed Jan. 23, 2009, published as U.S. Publication No. 2010/0189305, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LIP READING CONTROL OF A MEDIA DEVICE,” and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,798,311 on Aug. 5, 2014, the content of which is incorporated herewith in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Often, controlling a set top box (STB) that operates a media device or system using a remote control is difficult or inconvenient. For example, a parent holding an infant may have difficulty in reaching for and using the remote control. As another example, a person eating dinner while watching a television (TV) may have difficulty in reaching for and using the remote control. Further, in some instances, a person may have lost their remote control and would have to make changes to their media system using the manual controls on the STB and/or the media device or system.

In some situations, it may be physically impossible for a person to operate a remote control. For example, a person with severe physical disabilities may not have sufficient control of their hands and/or fingers to manually operate the remote control. As another example, a person in a hospital recovering from surgery may not be able to reach and/or operate the remote control.

One possible solution to the above-described problem of not being able to operate a remote control is the use of a speech or voice recognition technology. However, media devices typically present sounds to the user. For example, the user may be listening to music presented on their radio or stereo. As another example, the media device may be presenting both video images and sounds, such as when a user is viewing a movie. Accordingly, the sounds emitted from the media device must be distinguished from verbal commands of the user. In many situations, distinguishing between sounds emitted from the media device and the verbal commands of the user renders such speech or voice recognition systems inefficient or even inoperable.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods of generating device commands based upon spoken user commands are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment captures a series of images of a user of a media device, generates image information corresponding to the series of captured images, determines lip movement of the user from the generated image information, determines at least one spoken user command based upon the determined lip movement of the user, and determines a device command based upon the determined spoken user command. Then, the device command is communicated to, for example, a media presentation device, wherein an operation of the media presentation device is controlled in accordance with the determined spoken user command.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred and alternative embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lip reading control system that is operable to control a media device; and

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a lip reading control system that is operable to control other devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lip reading control system 100 that is operable to control a media device 102, such as, but not limited to, a set top box (STB). Embodiments of the lip reading control system 100 may be implemented in other media devices, such as, but not limited to, stereos, radios, televisions (TVs), digital video disc (DVD) players, digital video recorders (DVRs), or a personal computer (PC).

The non-limiting exemplary media device 102 comprises a program content stream interface 104, a processor system 106, a memory 108, a program buffer 110, an optional digital video recorder (DVR) 112, a presentation device interface 114, and an optional image capture device 116. The memory 108 comprises portions for storing the lip movement recognition logic 118, the electronic program guide (EPG) 120, and the command interpretation logic 122. Other media devices may include some, all, or none of the above-described media processing components. Further, additional components not described herein may be included in alternative embodiments.

As noted above, a user 124 may not be able to input commands using a remote control (not shown) or using buttons or other actuators on the media device 102. Embodiments of the lip reading control system 100 capture images using the image capture device 116 to monitor movement of the user's lips 126. Based upon the movement of the user's lips, presumably corresponding to verbally issued user commands, embodiments of the lip reading control system 100 determine and/or generate one or more media device commands. That is, based upon the determined spoken user commands, the media device 102 can then control various media devices in accordance with the determined user commands.

As noted above, many media presentation devices issue sounds, such as music from a stereo or dialogue from a movie. Accordingly, it may not be possible to differentiate sounds issued from the media presentation device and words spoken by a user 124. Here, embodiments of the lip reading control system 100 avoid such problems by determining user commands based upon the user's lip movements.

In some embodiments, the image capture device 116 is pointed outwardly from the media device 102 in a direction that is anticipated to result in captured images of the user 124. Alternatively, or additionally, an external image capture device 128, which may be portable, may be positioned so as to be pointed towards the user 124. For example, the media device 102 may be located behind the user, yet control the television 130 located on the other side of the media room. Thus, the external image capture device 128 may be independently placed and oriented in another location in the media room. The external image capture device 128 may communicate captured image information to the media device 102 using any suitable communication medium, including physical wires, light, or radio frequency (RF).

The image capture devices 116, 128 are operable to capture a sequential series of images of the user 124. Image information corresponding to the captured images is then generated and communicated to the processor system 106. The time between successive captured images must be short enough so as to provide a meaningful interpretation of the movement of the user's lips. In some embodiments, the image capture device may be a video camera. Accordingly, image information generated from a plurality of selected still images captured by the video camera are processed to determine the lip movements of the user 124.

The functionality of the media device 102, here a set top box, is now broadly described. One or more program content streams 132 are received by the program content stream interface 104. One or more tuners 104 a in the program content stream interface 104 selectively tune to one of the program content streams 132 in accordance with instructions received from the processor system 106. A program content stream 132 typically comprises a plurality of programs multiplexed together. The processor system 106, based upon a request for a program of interest specified by a user 124, parses out program content associated with the program of interest. The program content is then assembled into a stream of video and/or audio information which may be saved into the program buffer 110 such that the program content can be streamed out to the media presentation device, such as the television 130, via the presentation device interface 114. Alternatively, or additionally, the parsed out program content may be saved into the DVR 112 for later presentation.

In this simplified embodiment, the presentation device interface 114 is illustrated as coupled to two exemplary media presentation devices, the television (TV) 130 and a surround-sound receiver 134. The video portion of the streamed program content is displayed on the TV display 136 and the audio portion of the streamed program content is reproduced as sounds by the speakers 138.

From time to time, information populating the EPG 120 portion of the memory 108 is communicated to the media device 102 via the program content stream 132. The EPG 120 portion of the memory 108 stores the information pertaining to the scheduled programming. The information may include, but is not limited to, a scheduled presentation start and/or end time, a program channel, and descriptive information. The program's descriptive information may include the title of the program, names of performers or actors, date of creation, and a summary describing the nature of the program. Any suitable information may be included in the program's supplemental information. Upon receipt of a command from the user 124 requesting presentation of an EPG display, the information in the EPG 120 is retrieved, formatted, and then presented on the display 136.

A user, by speaking user commands, moves their lips 126. The lip movement recognition logic 118 monitors the user's lip movements, and based upon the user's lip movements, determines what the user 124 is saying.

Conceptually describing operation of the lip reading control system 100, embodiments of the lip movement recognition logic 118 analyze image data received from the image capture device 116 and/or the external image capture device 128. Features of the background and the user are identified to determine the location of the user's lips in the received image information. Movement of the user's lips is based upon the movement of predefined points on the user's lips 126, known as markers or the like. The movement of the markers are tracked to determine what the user is saying. The words of the user are then correlated with corresponding words associated with user commands. Then, the command interpretation logic 122 generates the appropriate device commands based upon the determined speech of the user 124. The device commands are then issued to the controlled media presentation device, such as the television 130.

For example, the user 124 may wish to scroll through the displayed EPG and select a program of interest. The user may say “scroll downward” or the like (a verbal user command). The image capture device 116, and/or the external image capture device 128, is capturing a real-time image of the user 124, and hence an image of the user's moving lips 126. Based upon the movement of predefined points on the user's lips 126, the lip movement recognition logic 118 determines that the user said “scroll downward” or the like. The command interpretation logic 122 then, based upon what the user 124 has said, generates a corresponding device command that causes a highlighted portion on the displayed EPG to scroll downward.

Any suitable lip movement recognition logic 118 may be used in the various embodiments of the lip reading control system 100. Such lip movement recognition systems and methods are well known and are not described herein for brevity.

However, special features of the lip movement recognition logic 118 are applicable to embodiments of the lip reading control system 100, and are now conceptually described by their functionality. For example, one exemplary feature requires distinguishing a plurality of users 124 from the background artifacts in a captured image. Thus, a movement of a plurality of lips may be monitored to determine if any of the users are issuing spoken user commands intended to operate a media presentation device. Such multiple user recognition systems and methods are well known and are not described herein for brevity.

Another optional exemplary feature employed by some embodiments of the lip reading control system 100 include an engagement command feature. A special spoken engagement command must be first detected prior to the lip reading control system 100 issuing a device command. Thus, ordinary conversation between a plurality of users will not inadvertently result in a generation of a device command that is issued to a media presentation device. Here, a keyword or phrase is stored in memory 108. Language from the one or more users is continuously monitored. When the lip reading control system 100 determines that one of the users has spoken the engagement command keyword or phrase, that user is monitored for spoken user commands that are expected to be forthcoming. Some embodiments may also include a disengagement command feature such that, upon detecting the user speaking a disengagement command keyword or phrase, the lip reading control system 100 then becomes configured to disregard further speech from that user. That is, subsequent spoken user commands are disregarded after determining the disengagement command.

In some embodiments, the lip reading control system 100 will include an optional learning function that allows the lip reading control system 100 to recognize a particular user, and to better identify spoken commands from that user. For example, accents or the like may be different between users, and thus, their differing accents may result in different types of lip movement for the same user command.

Accordingly, a particular user 124 may present a series of user commands to the lip reading control system 100. The lip reading control system 100 “remembers” the movement of the user's lips for the series of commands. Then, during operation, detected lip movement may be compared with the learned lip movement associated with the series of commands to more reliably determine the words from the user. The learning feature may be particularly useful for users having physical speech impediments.

Also, some embodiments may learn that some users are not authorized to issue user commands. For example, children may be recognized from adults who are exclusively authorized to issue spoken user commands. A user command from the unauthorized children may then be disregarded, even if the children attempt to cause the lip reading control system 100 to issue device commands based upon their words (or their lip movement). Such learning systems and methods are well known and are not described herein for brevity.

In some embodiments, optional functionality may be included to determine user commands spoken in a plurality of different languages. For example, lip movement for a user command spoken in the English language will be quite different from the same user command spoken in the French, German, or Chinese languages. The determination may be made from a specific user input or predefined input. Alternatively, the lip movement may be used to determine spoken words, which are then correlated with a set of predefined languages to determine the language of the user. Thus, embodiments are operable to distinguish user commands for different languages. Such multiple language recognition systems and methods are well known and are not described herein for brevity.

Some embodiments may analyze lip movement of a user based upon captured image information provided by more than one image capture device. Upon determination of a spoken user command based upon lip movement captured by a first image capture device, image information from a second image capture device, or a plurality of other image capture devices, is used to verify the user command. That is, commands that are determined from multiple images are compared, and then issued as device commands when the comparison verifies that the user has spoken a particular user command.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a lip reading control system 100 that is operable to control other home devices 202 and 204. In some embodiments, the media device 102 in which an embodiment of the lip reading control system 100 is implemented in includes one or more electrical outlets 206 that are operable to provide power to the home device 202. The processor system 106 is controllably coupled to a power switch 208 that controls delivery of power to the electrical outlet 206. When the home device 202 has its power cord 210 coupled to the power outlet 206, a user command may be issued to power the home device 202.

Here, the user speaks a user command having two portions. The first portion is an identifier of the home device 202. The second portion of the user command is what action to take, here, turning on or turning off the home device 202. For example, assume that the home device 202 is a lamp. The user says “turn on the lamp.” The user's lip movements are used to determine the spoken user command that identifies the home device 202 (the lamp) and the action to take (provide power to the lamp). A device command is generated by the processor system 106 and is sent to the power switch 208. The power switch 208 then provides the power at the electrical outlet 206. Thus, the lamp is turned on.

More complex device commands may be generated by embodiments of the lip reading control system 100. Such commands may be communicated directly to the home device 204, or may be communicated directly to the home device 204 via the presentation device interface 114. Any suitable home device 204 may thus be controlled by the media device 102.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the lip reading control system 100 are merely possible examples of implementations of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A set top box (STB) configured to generate device commands based upon spoken user commands, comprising: an image capture device configured to capture a series of images of a user, and configured to generate image information corresponding to the series of captured images; and a processor system communicatively coupled to the image capture device, wherein the processor system is configured to: receive the image information from the image capture device, wherein the image information includes information that shows movement of the user's lips, determine the movement of the user's lips from the received image information, continuously monitor the movement of the user's lips in the series of captured images of the user to determine at least one of an engagement command, a disengagement command, and a STB command, determine a device command in response to determining the STB command, wherein the determined STB command is disregarded until after the engagement command is determined, wherein the device command associated with the determined STB command is performed after the engagement command is determined, and wherein a subsequent determined STB command is disregarded after the disengagement command is determined.
 2. The STB of claim 1, further comprising: a presentation device interface coupled to the processor system and at least one media presentation device with a display, wherein the device command controls operation of an electronic program guide (EPG) displayed by the media presentation device. 